The present area of Kaunas Old Town, at the confluence of the Nemunas and the Neris rivers, has been inhabited by people since ancient times. The settlement from which Kaunas city developed was first mentioned by chroniclers in 1361.To fend off attacks by the Crusaders, a brick castle was built at the end of the thirteenth century and became an important part of the city’s defence system. Its dilapidated walls bear witness to many battles. In 1408, Vytautas granted Kaunas the rights of Magdeburg. From then on, Kaunas began to grow rapidly, increasing its importance as a centre of trade with Western Europe and as a port. In 1441, after the signing of the Treaty of the Hanseatic League, merchants from the Hanseatic cities opened an office, which remained open until 1532. By the end of the sixteenth century, Kaunas had already built its first school, a public hospital, and a pharmacy, and by the end of the century, Kaunas had become one of the most well established cities of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

The 17th and 18th centuries were very harsh for the city. This was manifested in various calamities: the Russian invasions of 1665, the Swedish invasion of Russia in 1701, during which the land of Lithuania was devastated, the plague epidemics of 1657 and 1708, and the fires of 1731 and 1732.

At the end of the 18th century, Kaunas’s economy recovered somewhat, but it was soon overwhelmed by the War of 1812, during which Napoleon’s army crossed the Nemunas at Kaunas. The city was devastated twice during the war. The Oginski Canal, which connected the Nemunas to the Dnieper, was dug in the late 18th century, the railway linking the Russian Empire to Germany was built in 1862, and the first power station was opened in 1898, all of which helped the city’s industry and commerce to develop. However, there was one factor that limited the city’s growth: the construction of the Kaunas Fortress, which lasted from 1882 to 1915. Further development of Kaunas was halted by the First World War. Until 1919, Kaunas was host to representatives of various nations and governments (Lithuanian Communists, Pilsudski’s Poland, Germany).

After the Russians occupied Vilnius in 1919, the State Council and the Cabinet of Ministers, as well as other institutions were established in Kaunas. When Vilnius was occupied in 1920 by the treacherous Poland, which broke the Treaty of Suwalki, Kaunas became the temporary capital and the most important city of Lithuania. In 1920, the Constituent Assembly met in Kaunas and laid the legal foundations of the restored state. During the years of independence, Kaunas expanded considerably, with a growing population, a flourishing industry and the development of many of Lithuania’s most important industries. Construction flourished, many buildings were rebuilt, new monuments of great architectural significance were erected, and bridges across the Nemunas and Neris rivers connected Aleksotas and Vilijampolė with the centre. Buses started running in 1924 and the city’s water supply was installed in 1928. However, this period of prosperity was interrupted by the Soviet occupation, which did most of the damage.

After the war, Kaunas became Lithuania’s second largest city in terms of population and size. While the reconstruction of the war-torn city was swift, the Soviet occupiers were even more swift in destroying and destroying everything that reminded us of independent Lithuania. Various means were used to fight against the aliens. One of the most notorious public protests against Soviet rule was the burning of R. Kalanta in 1972 in the Kaunas city garden in front of the Musical Theatre.

In 1988, with the outbreak of the great liberation movement, a revival of many values was undertaken: the names of streets, squares and museums were restored, and many of the monuments of the independence era were restored. In 1991, when the Soviet army attacked the independence of the young Lithuanian state, there were people on guard at the Sitkūnai radio and television transmitters in Kaunas, determined to sacrifice their lives for it. Later, after the withdrawal of the Soviet army from Lithuania, Kaunas opened up opportunities for all kinds of development and cooperation with foreign cities. Kaunas citizens will never forget the Pope’s visit to Kaunas. Today Kaunas is the second largest city in Lithuania and the centre of the county.

Photos taken from the archives of the Vytautas Magnus War Museum.

HISTORY OF MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT IN KAUNAS

“Given on Thursday, 1408, Saint Valentine’s Day” On the occasion of the anniversary of Kaunas city self-government, it is worth remembering that in 1998, in the act of proclaiming Kaunas City Day, the attention was drawn to the following dates of Kaunas history: 1030 – the legendary year of the foundation of Kaunas (scholars doubt the veracity of this fact; in general, it remains a legend, as the date is taken from the Bychovec Chronicle (or the chronicle of Lithuania at large), which contains the legend of Prince Palemon, which exalts the then elite of the GDL, and which is not consistent with historical truth)

1140 – Arab traveller and cartographer Al Idrisi mentions Kaniyū on his map, which is identified with the name of Kaunas (scholars also question the veracity of this fact)

1361 – Kaunas is mentioned for the first time in a written source – the “New Prussian Chronicle” by the chronicler of the Teutonic Knights, Vygandas Marburgietis

1408 – Vytautas, the ruler of the GDL, granted the Kaunas citizens the privilege of self-government on the basis of the Magdeburg Law, which established a community of free and economically independent merchants and craftsmen, directly responsible to the ruler (the privilege has not survived)

1463 – On 20 May, the ruler of the GDL, Kazimieras Jogailaitis, granted a privilege to the city of Kaunas, confirming and extending the city’s rights (the oldest surviving privilege).

The beginning of Kaunas city self-government

The establishment of Kaunas City Council marks the beginning of Kaunas’ history as a city. Among the cities of present-day Lithuania, Kaunas was the second after Vilnius to receive Magdeburg rights. They were granted by Vytautas on 14 February 1408, while Vilnius was granted self-government rights by Jogaila on 22 March 1387. This meant that the community of citizens was freed from the direct rule of the ruler or his deputies, and was able to exercise the city’s luomic right and create self-government. These privileges led to the creation of organised urban communities and laid the legal foundations for townsmen. Urban self-government is a very important phenomenon in the history of Lithuania, and it is therefore important to commemorate the date of the establishment of Kaunas self-government.

The transcript of the privilege granting Magdeburg rights to Kaunas states that it was granted on Thursday, St Valentine’s Day 1408. St Valentine’s Day, 1408. Historians do not know for sure whether it was on the Thursday before or after Valentine’s Day, because the words ante (before) or post (after) were inadvertently omitted by the person who created the forgery of this privilege; a partial reconstruction of the 1408 privilege by Prof. Zigmantas Kiaupa has been carried out by comparing the forgery of the privilege and the content of the Casimir’s Privilege for Kaunas in 1463. The date of the earliest known privilege for Kaunas was therefore not for a long time more precisely defined. This is what led the Kaunas municipality to choose another, less uncertain date for the City Day celebrations. The citizens of Kaunas chose the oldest surviving privilege for the city and, when they decided to celebrate Kaunas City Day in 1998, they chose 20 May, the date when Casimir Jogailaitis renewed and extended the city’s rights in 1463.

The text of the 1408 privilege that has come down to us is not the original – it is a text that originated in the Lutheran environment of Kaunas in the early 17th century. Historical research has shown that the authors of the 17th-century text used a copy or summary of the authentic 1408 privilege. The date of the privilege is not in any doubt. Thus, the year 1408 should be considered as the beginning of Kaunas city self-government.

Vytautas, by granting the privilege, transferred the scales, waxworks and a carpenter’s shop to Kaunas. These were profitable, monopolistic enterprises. The scales were used to weigh goods brought to the city or shipments of goods prepared there. The waxworks checked the quality of the wax being prepared for export, or melted it down into pieces of a certain size, while the carding mill finished the fabrics.

Rulers’ privileges strengthened the city’s self-government

The legal and economic immunity of Kaunas city in the state was further strengthened by the privileges of other rulers: in 1415 – Vytautas, in 1432 – Žygimantas Kęstutaitis, in 1440, in 1449 and in 1463 – Kazimieras, in 1492 – Aleksandras, in 1507 and in 1508 – Žygimantas the Elder. In 1440, Kazimieras privilege allowed Kaunas to hold one 8-day fair every year during the Feast of St. The fair was held on the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (15 August). This was one of the first permissions to hold fairs in Lithuanian cities. In 1449, Kazimieras Privilege, among other provisions, banned retail trade for visiting merchants in Kaunas. The year 1492 was particularly significant for the city’s economy.

Aleksandras privilege. The ruler decreed that visiting merchants were not allowed to come with goods to Lithuanian villages and towns without Magdeburg rights, and could only trade in Kaunas and only with Kaunas residents; a Kaunas brokerage right was proclaimed, forbidding guests in Kaunas to trade with each other. Kaunas was confirmed in its previous law of intercession, which stated that guests who brought goods to Kaunas had to stay there for at least 3 days and sell them to Kaunas citizens before they could transport them to other self-governing cities of the GDL or abroad. In addition to trade, crafts also developed rapidly in Kaunas: the first four guilds were established in the second half of the 16th century, while at the end of the 17th century there were 12 guilds in the city, and at the end of the 18th century 10 guilds. In the 16th and 18th centuries, there were a total of 23 craftsmen’s guilds covering at least 36 crafts. There were barber, shipwright, weaver, tailor, armourer, glassmaker, etc.

Respublica Caunensis

Thus, from 1408, Kaunas grew as a true European city. With extensive legal and tax immunity, the Kaunas citizens created a strong community, which was called Respublica Caunensis – the Republic of Kaunas.

Kaunas city government consisted of three main interrelated institutions – the Vaitas, the Magistratas (12 councillors and 4 burgomasters), and the Suolininkai (12 persons).The Vaitas was the highest municipal official, the representative of the city, according to the Magdeburg Law. The office conferred more honour than power. The Vaitas presided over the Suolininkai and announced its decisions. The second institution after the Vaitas was the Magistratas(Council). It managed and supervised the life of the town, adopted regulations, took care of the implementation of resolutions, and acted as one of the town’s courts: it dealt with the civil affairs of the townspeople, guardianship, property, and inheritance issues. The lowest level of the city government was the Suolininkai College, which dealt with criminal cases, property disputes and various offences against the city’s order.

Kaunas experienced its greatest economic boom at the end of the 16th – beginning of the 17th century. During this period, the city’s buildings were erected and many brick houses were built. After the wars of the mid-17th century, the Russian occupation and the crisis that hit the city, many changes took place, for example, the Suolininkai College became part of the Magistratas , and a new joint Vaito-Magistrato Court began to operate, which dealt with the criminal cases of the city’s authorities.

The city has been particularly protective and caring of its privileges. In 1542, the Town Hall was built. The coat of arms of Kaunas, created during the reign of Vytautas at the beginning of the 15th century, is one of the oldest known coats of arms of the city in the territory of the GDL. The construction of the brick city wall in the early 17th century also gave Kaunas a European character.

Kaunas is not only a community of citizens (a city), but also nobility and clergy. Outside the city, citizens had to obey the laws of the noble-ruled state. The situation began to change after the adoption of the Law on Towns by the Seimas on 18 April 1791. All inhabitants, including the nobility, had to obey the law of the city. Those with houses in the town could become townsmen, and some of the rights of the nobility were recognised for townsmen. Unfortunately, the reforms were not implemented because the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth collapsed in 1795.

The destruction of self-government under Tsarist rule

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the old privileges and Magdeburg Law were still in force. However, the powers of the Magistratas were limited, and the city became subordinate to the authorities in Vilnius and St. Petersburg (and from 1843 – to the board of the Kaunas gubernia). In 1808, the Magistratas was replaced by a 6-person Duma. The powers of the Duma were modest. Urban self-government in Tsarist Russia was severely limited. Towards the end of the century, the competences of city councils were further reduced.

The main institutions of municipal government according to 28 June 1870. The City Councils, the City Duma and the City Board were the main bodies of the City Council, according to the City Law of 28 June 1870. The City Duma (City Council) was elected by property owners rather than by representatives of the lords. The City Duma had organisational functions. It was elected for four years and ranged in size from 69 to 72 members.

Features of interwar self-government

During the period of the First Republic of Lithuania, Kaunas City Council was elected 6 times: in 1918, 1920, 1921, 1924, 1931 and 1934. The office of the Mayor of Kaunas appeared in 1921. Jonas Vileišis became the first Mayor of Kaunas (until 1931), followed by Antanas Gravrogkas (1932-1933) and Antanas Merkys (1933-1939). The Kaunas City Council elected a board from among its members (from 1931 its functions were assigned to the Mayor), the number of which varied depending on the number of councillors. Various political parties, organisations and associations took part in the elections to the City Council. The new 1931 Law on Municipalities strengthened the functions of the Ministry of the Interior, which controls municipalities. The introduction of a property threshold (only owners of farms and enterprises and employees of state institutions and municipalities were allowed to vote) and the change in the age limit (from 24) meant that very few people could take part in municipal elections. In 1924, 46 000 Kaunas citizens were eligible to vote in municipal elections, while in 1931 only 27 000 were eligible. Although the municipalities elected in 1934 had a 3-year term of office, the government did not hesitate to call elections due to the growing opposition and extended the mandate of the old municipalities. The Kaunas City Museum will present an exhibition “Kaunas in the Signs of History”, which will open on 15 February, to give a more detailed insight into the development of Kaunas municipal government from 1408 to the 1940s.

Specifics of Soviet self-government

15 June 1940 When the Soviet Union occupied Lithuania, municipalities were destroyed. In fact, from that time onwards, it was not the municipalities that were in place, but only their leaders – county governors, town burgomasters and heads of parishes. But the functions of these officials have also been narrowed and their role reduced. The real authorities became the Communist Party functionaries and repressive organs of the cities, counties and districts.

Local government since 1990

The first free and democratic municipal elections in Lithuania after a long break took place on 24 March 1990. The representative body of the Kaunas City Municipality elected on that occasion was initially called the Kaunas City Council of People’s Deputies (100 deputies were elected), and since April 1990 it has been called the Kaunas City Council of People’s Deputies. The Kaunas City Council was elected in 1990, and in July 1994 it became the Kaunas City Council. Kaunas City Municipal Council. Vidmantas Adomonis was appointed the first Mayor on 15 May 1990.